Earthbound: Champions of the Future

Chapter Eleven

~ Gandamu Tanakan's POV ~

The abode which belonged to Reed was just as unimpressive as the outside. A chandelier hung low from the ceiling, which illuminated the room darkened by black walls. The carpet was as red as newly shed blood. The staircase was wide and led upwards into a second floor. "Hmph. This man truly is disgraceful if this is his place of residence." I commented.

"Not everyone is a royal like you." Trudeau replied, rolling her eyes. "Let's just find Ms. Mizu and get out of here. This place already creeps me out. I feel like something's watching us."

I immediately slipped away as soon as Trudeau and her little nymph friend weren't looking, climbing the stairs to the second floor. The sooner we were away from this place, the better. At this very moment, Enigma were slipping further and further away from my grasp. The only reason I agreed to assist Trudeau with this was to prevent her complaining.

Trudeau was correct on one subject: I, too, felt as if something was watching from afar. No matter where I looked, however, I saw nothing. "How dare you try and trick me with your auditory illusions, Reed..." I mumbled to myself.

Despite my earlier comments about the abode, it reminded me a lot of my own home. The shady presence had it's familiarities, which comforted me slightly. I expected to see various photographs hanging on the walls, and disappointed sighs escaped my lips when I found none.

Something coming into contact with my arm distracted me from my woeful thoughts. I looked down as saw it was nothing more than a confused Mr. Batty. A swift PSI Fire Gamma took care of it.

"Gandamu!!"

I sighed irritatedly as the forest fairy flew into my peripheral vision. "What happened to the 'Let's work together!' thing?" She cried, hands on her hips.

"I never agreed to that." I replied. "Someone as grand as myself does not need to be accompanied by a regular mortal."

"... But is she really...?" Syo whispered, a far off look in her lime green eyes.

"Of course she is. She is useless to me." I scoffed. "Still, a human sacrifice might be useful one day, so I suppose she is not completely without worth..."

A crash from the lower floor pulled me away from the conversation. I descended the stairs and entered what appeared to be the dining room. I saw the human girl stood next to a broken mirror, it's shards scattered across the floor. "What are you doing?" I asked.

"I just smashed this mirror." Trudeau replied.

"... Why?"

"Meh. Felt like it. I've never smashed a mirror until now."

I sighed, burying my face into my scarf. "How bothersome... Are you trying to lure our enemy towards us?"

"I, uh, never thought of that." Trudeau admitted, a sheepish smile on her face. "Still, you're strong and stuff... You can take 'em."

"... Complimenting me is not going to make my opinion of you improve." I told her.

"It was worth a shot," she replied with a sigh. "Anyway, let's go. I don't want to keep Ms. Mizu waiting any longer!"

Trudeau followed my lead to the second floor, stopping before she climbed the last step. "Look!" She cried, pointing to something on the ground. She lifted it up to the light for examination. It appeared to be some kind of darkly coloured cloth. "I saw something like this in the photograph... This must belong to Ms. Mizu, on something like her dress or her sleeves." Trudeau concluded.

"Then she is nearby, or at least passed by here." I replied.

Trudeau nodded before her green eyes went wide. She stumbled slightly and stuck her hand out to hold onto the wall, her other hand gripping her head. "Whoa..." she whispered.

"Are you okay...?!" Syo cried, concern laced into her voice. "You look really pale all of a sudden...!"

"J-Just went kind of dizzy..." Trudeau replied breathlessly. "I... I think I heard a voice, too..."

"A voice?" I repeated.

"Yeah..." Trudeau nodded. "Like, a woman's voice... she said 'ballroom'... but that's all I could hear..."

"Maybe that was Ms. Mizu contacting you!" Syo cried. "She could have just told us where she's being held!"

"Then what are we waiting for?" I asked. Trudeau tried to lead the way down the corridor, but stumbled slightly when she let go of the wall. I sighed as I watched, contemplating on whether or not to lend some assistance.

"... Give me your hand." I told her after some hesitation, holding out my left hand.

"Wait, huh?" Trudeau blinked, her face flushing with colour. "What are you-"

"I said, give me your hand." I commanded.

"O-Okay, okay...!" Trudeau cried, placing her hand in mine. "Um, are you sure this is okay...? I'm pretty sure you just flinched for a second th-"

"I won't have you staggering around like an unsteady drunk." I interrupted, dragging her towards our destination. "That is my only reason for doing this. Don't expect me to help you again, understand?"

"C'mon, we all know you will." Syo teased, a grin on her face.

I ignored her.

~ ~ ~

The auditorium was a large circular room, the midday sun pouring through the windows. This would have made the atmosphere seem somewhat uplifting if it wasn't for the hidden darkness in this cursed place.

A girl with long pale blue hair was sat in the corner of the room, singing quietly to herself. "Um... hi?" Trudeau called out.

Mizu looked up with a gasp, her yellow eyes wide with fear before she slowly rose from the ground, tightly gripping her staff. "Who are you?" She asked. "Are you the one who received my message?"

"So that WAS you..." Trudeau nodded. "My name's-"

"Naoma Trudeau and Gandamu Tanakan. I know." Mizu smiled. "I am Azura. Azura Mizu. You've... come to save me, haven't you?"

"We sure have!" Syo nodded. "There's nothing to be scared of now that we're here! We won't let you be forced into marrying some rich guy!"

"Thank you," Mizu replied. "But we must move quickly, before he returns. I would have escaped sooner, but..." Mizu glanced down at her ankle, where a metal chain was tightly wrapped. "No matter what I do, this chain won't break."

"Gandamu!" Trudeau exclaimed, turning to me. "You can break that, right?"

I nodded with a sigh and released a wave of PSI Fire Gamma onto the metallic chain, causing it to burn away. "Alright!" Trudeau cried, punching the air. "Now we can get out of this freaky place!"

"What's this? A merry duo of companions here to steal my future bride? How rude..."

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NOOT NOOT

THAT NAOMU MOMENT WAS MY PRESENT TO YOU _lily_shield_

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